Vernacular Photography and the Snapshot Aesthetic

The greatest and most praised photograph hanging on a museum gallery wall is of trivial importance compared to your snapshot of a loved one. Vernacular photography is the photography of everyday life: family, friends, home, and familiar places. --- According to the Austrian art theorist Joseph August Lux, personal photography provides stability against the ebb and flow of modernity. Submit photos you took during an especially joyous time of your life, while you were with loved ones. --- The main question is will *other people* judge your photograph highly, will they consider it art? --- Closely related to vernacular photography is the "snapshot aesthetic", where professional photographers copy the often crude technique and poor image quality of vernacular photographs. The snapshot aesthetic is perhaps opposed in intent from the vernacular, so this ought to be an interesting competition.

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Announced:

Tuesday, 26th April, 2011 (GMT)

Submissions:

Tuesday, 3rd May, 2011 –
Monday, 9th May, 2011
(GMT)

Voting:

Tuesday, 10th May, 2011 –
Monday, 16th May, 2011
(GMT)

Processing rules:

Little to no post processing is acceptable. The intent of this challenge is to produce photographs that are spontaneous in nature.

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

According to the museum curator and photographer John Szarkowski, the purpose of vernacular photography is not "to reform life but to know it."

Submit images of people and places you love. Can you show that love in your images?

Or, if you are attempting to duplicate the crude aesthetics of this kind of photography with more serious intent, what is your purpose? How can rough technique improve your photo?

Your complaint (along with the complaints of others regarding this entry) will be
reviewed by the challenge owner. Depending upon the nature and applicability of the
complaint, the entry may be disqualified. In extreme circumstances the user who submitted
the entry may receive a ban from the challenge or series in question.